And he said the membership fees are generating enough cash to pay someone (Marie Haws in Vancouver) to spend 40 hours a week producing the newsletter and various Ebert blog pages.

Asked about his Amazon affiliate tweets to merchandise for sale by the online retailer, Ebert wrote: “Amazon income is encouraging because I can see every day which links actually resulted in purchases, which would suggest those people, at least, appreciated them. After I wrote the blog entry explaining why I was doing it, complaints have died way down.”

He pointed out that “certain items ring a bell,” noting: “A package of 20 older Hitchcock films for $5 has sold more than 100 times, and still sells one a day two months later. Other times, I use Amazon links with my tongue in my cheek. For example, as one who has no love of video games, I noted a subscription deal for X-Box Magazine and said despite the bargain price I wouldn’t be subscribing. To my surprise, I sold about 15 subscriptions!”

In response to my questions about the membership fees he introduced last year, he replied: “With the Ebert Club, the original annual fee was $5,” he told me Thursday. “Too low, everyone told me. How could it be worth anything if it was only $5? Mid-year, we added an option on PayPal that members could, if they chose, pay $10 or $15, and most of them chose to pay more.

“We will soon publish the 52nd issue. After that date, all current members will stay at their current level, but new members will pay $10, $15 or $20. Feedback indicates that at these levels members are happy to support he newsletter and, through it, the site.”

Asking for help is paying off for Ebert not only financially but in terms of shaping whatever understanding he has with his audience about how he conducts — and supports — himself online.